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Donna Murphy
| birth_place = Corona, Queens, New York, U.S. | occupation = Actress, singer | notable_works = Fosca in Passion (1994) Ruth Sherwood in Wonderful Town (2003) Voice of Mother Gothel in Disney's Tangled (2010) | spouse = | children = 1 | yearsactive = 1979–present }} Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1959) is an American actress and singer, known for her work in musical theater. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical: for her role as Fosca in Passion (1994–95) and as Anna Leonowens'' in The King and I'' (1996–97). She was also nominated for her roles as Ruth Sherwood in Wonderful Town (2003), Lotte Lenya in LoveMusik (2007) and Bubbie/Raisel in The People in the Picture (2011). Murphy made her Broadway debut as a replacement in the 1979 musical They're Playing Our Song. Her other stage credits include the original Off-Broadway productions of Song of Singapore (1991) and Hello Again (1993), as well as the alternate to Bette Midler as the title character in Hello, Dolly! (2017–18). In 1997, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special for her role in Someone Had to be Benny, an episode of the HBO series Lifestories: Families in Crisis. Her film roles include Anij in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998); Rosalie Octavius in Spider-Man 2 (2004); Mother Gothel in the animated film Tangled (2010), and one of the government secretaries in The Bourne Legacy (2012). Early life and education Murphy, the eldest of seven children, was born in Corona, Queens, New York, the daughter of Jeanne (née Fink) and Robert Murphy, an aerospace engineer.Donna Murphy RottenTomatoes.com Murphy is of Irish, French, German, and Czech ancestry. Her family moved to Hauppauge, Long Island, New York. At age three, she asked for voice lessons, and she put on shows as a child in Hauppauge. She later moved to Topsfield, Massachusetts and graduated from Masconomet Regional High School in 1977. Personal life Murphy was married to actor and singer Shawn Elliott from 1990 until his death in March 2016."Actor Shawn Elliott, Husband of Donna Murphy, Dies at 79" Playbill, March 18, 2016 She is the stepmother of Elliott's two daughters. In 2005, they adopted a daughter from Guatemala, Darmia Hope.Robertson, Campbell."No Ill Feelings: Producers Bet on a 'Superwoman'", discussing her adopted daughterThe New York Times, April 30, 2007 Career Murphy dropped out of the New York University drama program in her sophomore year when she was cast to understudy the three backup singers in the 1979 Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song. In a 2007 interview, Murphy explained, "At the end of my sophomore year, I took a leave of absence. I needed to audition without cutting classes."Nassour, Ellis. [http://www.broadwaystars.com/ellis/2007/05/donna_murphy_singing_in_a.shtml "Donna Murphy: Singing in a Different Key in LoveMusik"], broadwaystars.com, May 7, 2007IMDB shows that she earned a B.F.A. in 1980. She also studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. She has appeared in many Off-Broadway productions, including the musical Francis in 1981 at the York Theatre at St. Peter's, The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1985 at the Public Theater's Delacorte Theatre, Birds of Paradise in 1987 (Promenade Theatre), Privates on Parade (Roundabout Theatre) in 1989, the musical Song of Singapore in 1991, the Michael John LaChiusa musical Hello Again at the Lincoln Center Mitzi Newhouse Theater in 1993, Twelve Dreams at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater in 1995, and Helen at the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival in 2002. In 2012, she appeared in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at The Public Theater's Delacorte Theatre as the Witch.Hetrick, Adam. "Once Upon a Time, Later": 'Into the Woods' Casts Spell in Central Park Starting July 24" . Playbill.com, July 24, 2012 On Broadway, after They're Playing Our Song (1979), she was an understudy in the musical/opera The Human Comedy in April 1984 and played various roles in The Mystery of Edwin Drood from 1985 to 1987. She also played Audrey in Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors. In 1994, she played the role of Fosca in Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's Passion, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. A year later she appeared in Lapine's revival, Twelve Dreams. In 1996, she played Anna Leonowens in the revival of The King and I alongside Lou Diamond Phillips, also recording a cast album. The role earned her a second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She appeared as Ruth Sherwood in a revival of Wonderful Town from 2003 to 2005 (having previously performed in the New York City Center Encores! 2000 staged concert of that musical), and was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Actress in a Musical and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. In 2007, she appeared in LoveMusik as Lotte Lenya, opposite Michael Cerveris as Kurt Weill, receiving nominations for Tony and Drama Desk Awards. She appeared in the 2007 New York City Center Encores! staged concert of Follies as Phyllis.Brantley, Ben. "Oh, Those Sharp Stones in a Dance Down Memory Lane", The New York Times, February 10, 2007 She appeared in the Roundabout Theatre production of a new musical, The People in the Picture, which opened on April 28, 2011 and closed on June 19, 2011.BWW News Desk. "Donna Murphy to Return to Broadway in 'The People In The Picture'" broadwayworld.com, October 31, 2010 She was nominated for a 2011 Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her role in the production."Tony Nominations Announced" broadwayworld.com, May 3, 2011 She appeared in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! as Dolly Levi, the alternate to Bette Midler on Tuesday evenings and other select performances. She played her last performance on January 7, 2018.McPhee, Ryan. "Donna Murphy Sets Last Night in 'Hello, Dolly!'; Bernadette Peters to Play 8 Performances a Week" Playbill, September 7, 2017McPhee, Ryan. "Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, Taylor Trensch, Beanie Feldstein Bid Farewell to 'Hello, Dolly!' January 14" Playbill, January 14, 2018 Murphy returned to Hello, Dolly! for six performances (July 22 and 29, August 5, 12, 19, and 20) when Midler rejoined the musical before it closed on August 25, 2018.McPhee, Ryan. "Donna Murphy to Return to Broadway's 'Hello, Dolly!'" Playbill, May 29, 2018 Murphy's film roles include Anij, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love interest, in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), in the film Center Stage, as a ballet teacher (2000), as Rosalie Octavius, wife of Dr. Otto Octavius, the film's villain in Spider-Man 2 (2004), as Betty, a surgical research assistant in Darren Aronofsky's film The Fountain (2006), and Scarlett Johansson's mother in The Nanny Diaries (2007). As Mother Gothel in the animated musical film Tangled (2010) she sang the song "Mother Knows Best". "Alan Menken Interview" broadwayworld.com, November 15, 2010 She played Kathleen, Vera Farmiga's mother in Higher Ground (2011) and Marie in Dark Horse (2011). In 2012, she appeared as government secretary Dita Mandy, in The Bourne Legacy. On television, Murphy appeared in the NBC soap opera Another World from 1989 through 1991 as District Attorney Morgan Graves. She won an Emmy in 1997, for playing Armando Agrelo in Someone Had to be Benny (1996), an episode of the HBO series Lifestories: Families in Crisis. Other television series roles include, a recurring role as Abigail Adams in Liberty! The American Revolution (1997), Murder One (1995–1996), Law & Order as Carla Tyrell in a recurring role (2000), Hack (2002–2003), Trust Me (2009) and Quantico (2017). Her voice-over work in TV commercials, includes the Le Vian chocolate diamonds series for Jared Jewelry. Stage Filmography Film Television Video games Awards and nominations References External links * Official Donna Murphy Facebook Page * * * * * The Donna Murphy Database - Unofficial Fan Website * * 2007 Interview with Donna Murphy at The Sondheim Review }} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses from New York City Category:Actresses of German descent Category:American film actresses Category:American musical theatre actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American voice actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American people of Czech descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:People from Corona, Queens Category:Tony Award winners Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:People from Topsfield, Massachusetts Category:People from Hauppauge, New York Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Massachusetts